Comic book and graphic novel publisher BOOM! Studios has sold two drama projects based on properties from its catalog under the company’s first-look deal with 20th Century Fox TV, one of them executive produced by Homeland and Tyrant‘s Howard Gordon. Serving as executive producers on both are BOOM! Founder and CEO Ross Richie and President of Development Stephen Christy.

Deep State, based on the comic book series created and written by Justin Jordan and drawn by Ariela Kristantina, is a collaboration with Gordon’s 20th TV-based Teakwood Lane. Written by Anna Fricke (Being Human), the drama centers on curious and driven FBI agent Katherine Branch, who is recruited by a shadowy branch of the government known as Control. There she discovers its role in promoting popular conspiracy theories to distract from fantastical happenings and unexplained events. Partnered with mysterious Control agent John Harrow, Branch finds out how far Control goes to cover up the truth and how much their own lives are at stake. Fricke and Teamwood Lane’s Gordon and Hugh Fitzpatrick also executive produce. Last season, BOOM! and Gordon teamed to adapt comic book Unthinkable, also as a drama for Fox.

The Rinse, based on the BOOM! miniseries created and written by Gary Phillips and drawn by Marc Laming, is being written/executive produced by writer Mick Betancourt (Necessary Roughness). It follows Jeff Sinclair, an underworld money-laundering figure who is unwillingly pulled into a dangerous gig laundering $25 million in stolen casino skim money.

With last year’s acquisition of indie publishing outfit Archaia, BOOM! is set to publish 29 new original series it owns and controls this year, adding to its library of more than 120 IP. Next year, the number will go up to 35 original series, making BOOM! the largest library of owned and controlled original comic book series outside of Marvel and DC Comics.

BOOM! also has a first-look deal with Fox on the feature side, which has yielded Malignant Man, with James Wan producing and directing, as well as The Foundation with Evan Daugherty adapting. Royden Lepp graphic novel series Rust is in development at the studio with Simon Kinberg producing and Carlos Saldanha directing, and Rochester is at Fox 2000 with Aline Brosh McKenna adapting her graphic novel and producing with Kinberg. Separately, BOOM! has a film adaptation of vampire action comic book Day Menset up at Universal and Insurrection 3.6 at Paramount from 2 Guns screenwriter Blake Masters.

BOOM! is repped by UTA and attorney Matt Saver. Fricke, who is under an overall deal at 20th TV, also is attached as executive producer/showrunner of Fox’s adaptation of the Australian miniseries Jack Irish. She is repped by UTA and attorney Patti Felker; Betancourt is with UTA and attorney Andy Galker.

Betancourt is a wonderful writer and a great guy. BOOM! is what his career is about to do!

Troy Peter • on Nov 25, 2014 12:12 am

comic book creators who work for these companies are idiots. Boom as company has around as much literary clout as Amanda Hockings. If you’re going to give all your rights away and work for pay, in the hope that the morons who run this company are going to take care of you, you’ll make more money working at Target. Oh and there’s a difference between selling something and having it made and becoming a success. Where is that article?